IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG, LONELY SCHUMER
Sen. Hillary Clinton may still be trying to figure
out what to do with the New York Democratic gubernatorial primary,
but it’s certain what she wants to do to her colleague Sen.
Chuck Schumer. “It’s not printable,” says a
Clinton Hill aide.
Her anger at Schumer, greater than it usually is for the
publicity hungry pol, is the result of his decision to endorse New
York state comptroller Carl McCall over former
Clinton administration official Andrew Cuomo for
the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Gov.
George Pataki. Depending on whom you speak to, the
two New York senators either had an agreement to hold off on any
endorsement (Clinton spin) or there was never an agreement about
anything (Schumer spin).
“We’ve been following the lead of [DNC chief] Terry
McAuliffe,” says the Clinton staffer. “That line has been,
let the best Democrat win, then have the party support that winner
completely. Look at the mess the White House and some congressional
leaders have created by sticking their noses into the Republican
primaries too early. You haven’t seen much of that on the
Democratic side.”
But Schumer’s quick endorsement of McCall has certainly led to
some problems, mostly for Clinton. Had she had her choice, she most
likely would have also endorsed McCall, who insiders say has sought
out advice from her husband on political and campaign matters. The
Clinton and Cuomo camps have circled each other warily for years,
and Hillary had no interest in endorsing her hubby’s ex-Cabinet
member. “She wasn’t that thrilled about the guy before all this
happened, she sure as hell doesn’t want to endorse him now, after
Schumer’s stolen her thunder,” says the staffer. “She looks like an
also-ran.”
“She’d look like a junior Senator, that’s the problem. But that
is exactly what she is, whether she likes it or not” says a Schumer
staffer in New York. “The boss had every right to make an
endorsement. In many ways he is the senior Democratic leader for
the state. He has always taken a role in state party doings, and
he’s a friend of McCall’s. The endorsement was a perfectly natural
thing to do.”
But the timing did seem a bit off. According to a
Washington-based Schumer aide, the McCall endorsement last July 22
was intended to give Schumer get a bit of publicity back home at a
time when Clinton was getting the bulk of the press. In the past
month or so, her name has sprung up in rumors about her vice
presidential viability, not to mention the glowing press she
received for her speech at the Democratic Leadership Council
conference held in Manhattan. “She’s been everywhere. She’s in
demand for fundraisers, for party events,” says a Schumer aide in
Washington. “It was probably time for the senator to step out and
get some of the spotlight for himself. And it puts Clinton in a bit
of a bind.”
It’s not clear what Clinton will do. One school of thought says
she will not endorse McCall, but instead will wait for the primary
to play out and then step forward and help the winner — expected
to be McCall — fundraise. “He needs her a lot more than he needs
Schumer. We’ll see who he brings up state with him when he
campaigns,” says the New York Clinton aide.
SPENDING TIME
The Democratic National Committee has sent out its big gun to make
one more push for large chunks of soft money with the friends in
Hollywood. Former President Clinton, whose arm does not have to be
twisted to get him out to the Left Coast, has been spending some
time there, dining in hot spots last month with such Democratic
big-wigs as producer Steve Bing and TV mogul
Haim Saban. Together, the two have probably ponied
up more than three-quarters of a million to the party.
“They love Clinton, and every time we put them together it seems
there is a payoff for the party,” says a DNC staffer. Never mind
the indelicate use of terms, the DNC-er is right. “Not everyone who
gave big during his administration wants to see him out there,”
said the staffer, not naming names. “But we know there are some
big-money types who like to hang with him, and he enjoys spending
time with them too.”
